Watching Lu Ling Feng leave in a flurry of activity.
Su Wu Ming hurriedly said, "Why didn't you try to stop him?"
"Me?" Wang Lin shook his head, "Can I stop him?"
Su Wu Ming swallowed, "You're right. We need to report this to the Princess. Do you want to come with me?"
"Forget it. I'll go investigate new leads. I personally took this case in front of the Princess. I won't rest easy until it's solved."
Before leaving.
Wang Lin grabbed Su Wu Ming's arm.
He asked Su Wu Ming if he had found anything in his investigation of Ma Xiong.
Su Wu Ming shook his head, "Nothing. Border intelligence isn't included in the Dali Temple archives."
Wang Lin nodded.
His gaze swept over Su Wu Ming's head.
【(Gold) Clever Case Solver: You possess a photographic memory and can accurately judge a suspect's unusual behavior through detailed observation and deduction!】
【(Purple) Expert in Autopsy: Every time you conduct an autopsy, you have a very high chance of discovering clues from the body!】
【(Green) I'm Outta Here: When facing danger, you always find a way to escape!】
【Target Identification: Su Wu Ming】
【Benevolence: 100】
【Favorability: 10】
【Currently Copyable: Green Skill — I'm Outta Here】
Seeing this.
Wang Lin was deep in thought.
If he could do something that benefited the entire world.
Something that made him inherently likable to everyone.
Then.
In Benevolence Mode.
Could he directly copy lower-level skills?
The answer was yes.
Don't underestimate these lower-level skills.
You know.
Quantitative change can lead to qualitative change.
A thousand green skills combined might not be worse than a single gold skill!
The key is to do good!
Thinking about this.
Wang Lin had a new plan for his future upgrades.
However, for now.
He still needed to focus on the current Demon Slayer Transformation.
As Wang Lin arrived at the Dali Temple.
Chang Fang, the Deputy Chief Constable, Chen Chi, the Constable, and Zhang Qian, the Head Clerk, all rushed forward to greet him.
Each of them called out "Your Honor."
Bowing in greeting.
Their eyes were eager.
They were extremely respectful, not daring to overstep their bounds.
After all, in their eyes, Wang Lin was a figure of great importance.
He was a master of poetry and music, held the rank of the Fourth Rank, was a favorite of the Princess, and now assisted in the investigation at the Dali Temple. Plus, he could outrank anyone in the official hierarchy.
Any of these aspects would be hard to match!
There was no way they wouldn't be enthusiastic.
Wang Lin also returned the greetings with great enthusiasm. He was graceful and charming, making people feel refreshed.
In terms of etiquette, there was absolutely nothing to fault.
He spent the better part of a day at the Dali Temple.
He occasionally browsed through today's case files and constantly requested new files.
Unfortunately.
He didn't trigger any Xuan Wu clues, unlike Lu Ling Feng, from the Deputy Chief Constable and the Constable.
However.
Soon.
Lu Ling Feng returned to the Dali Temple, looking dejected.
Su Wu Ming followed closely behind, his expression unreadable.
Wang Lin put down his teacup, seemingly anticipating this, "What happened? Did you fail to destroy the mural?"
Lu Ling Feng sighed and laughed bitterly, "So, now even you're laughing at me?"
"Me? Why would I laugh at you?"
He left his desk.
He went to the small elegant tea table.
He quickly placed down two teacups, using a rough but efficient tea-making technique, presented two cups of tea, and gestured for Lu Ling Feng and Su Wu Ming to sit down and have tea.
They took their seats one after another.
However, Su Wu Ming couldn't help but feel a bit distressed watching such precious tea leaves being carelessly wasted by Wang Lin.
But, it was clear this was his personal tea.
Even if he felt a twinge of pain, he couldn't say anything.
Wang Lin raised his teacup.
He looked at Lu Ling Feng and said,
"Since they used the Demon King to murder people through the mural, then destroying the mural and making the demonic being lose its support would force the person behind it to reveal themselves. This move of yours, Lu Shao Qing, might seem rash, but it's a brilliant strategy."
Lu Ling Feng took a sip of tea and sighed, "Unfortunately, it failed. The effort was wasted."
"Actually, it's not really a failure... Have you ever considered why the Princess is so insistent on protecting the mural?"
"Oh?"
Hearing Wang Lin's question.
Both of them looked at him.
Actually, on their way here, they had already guessed.
They just hadn't said it out loud.
Wang Lin spoke freely, "To be honest, the Demon Slayer Transformation, officially, the Princess is seeking blessings for the Empress Dowager, but in reality, it's to suppress the East Palace. The two people who died before, both He Chi and Kong Mao, were recently promoted by the Crown Prince. They should have been victims of the power struggle in the court."
Lu Ling Feng nodded immediately, "Actually, I've also had my suspicions about this. But Sun Wang wasn't promoted by the Crown Prince, he was the Princess's man."
"Sun Wang? It was an accident. Didn't we already figure out how Sun Wang died?"
They were both intelligent men.
Immediately.
Su Wu Ming realized, "You mean, that night, the Demon King was actually targeting someone else? It was just that Sun Wang provoked it and things went awry!"
"Yes!"
Wang Lin narrowed his eyes.
He continued to guide the investigation.
He used the tea to write on the table.
"As far as I know, there are three people who were recently promoted by the Crown Prince. He Chi, Kong Mao and Xu Zhi Yun, the Official of Ceremonial Gifts in the Ministry of Rites."
Su Wu Ming suddenly understood, "So, the killer's next target is Xu Zhi Yun. Maybe, Sun Wang took the place of Xu Zhi Yun that night... I'll arrange it. Immediately send people to protect him!"
"Remember, keep the arrangement secret, send experts, and it's best if he doesn't go anywhere, especially be careful of two types of people, the Demon King and the Three Witches."
Lu Ling Feng was alarmed, "The Three Witches?! You also think they're in cahoots?"
Wang Lin: "It's highly likely. By the way, isn't Xi Jun good at painting? You've also seen the Three Witches. Have Xi Jun draw their portraits for reference."
Lu Ling Feng nodded, expressing understanding seriously.
Wang Lin, "One more thing. Those hidden assassins, since they used the mural to kill, spread rumors, then Qin Xiao Bai has played a key role in all of this. Have someone keep a close eye on him."
Su Wu Ming chimed in, "That… I've already sent someone to watch him. We can just wait for news."
Watching the two of them busy themselves again.
Wang Lin sat still.
He watched the water swirling in the tea.
His own heart was also stirred.
Using the Dali Temple, sending extra manpower to Xu Zhi Yun, setting a trap, so the Three Witches could fall into it, this was his purpose in coming to the Dali Temple.
If this worked, it would be perfect!
However.
Ending this Demon Slayer Transformation.
It was easy to say.
And hard to say.
Because before the truth was revealed.
There was always one person they couldn't avoid.
Princess Taiping.
Looking at the bigger picture.
This was Princess Taiping secretly raising troops, attempting to launch a major attack on Crown Prince Li Long Ji during the Ghost Festival— using a military mutiny to force her way into the palace, thus achieving her political ambitions.
This was the power struggle hidden behind the Demon Slayer Transformation.
However, the Princess, through her black-gloved henchmen— Cen Zhi and Cen Dian Jun— had arranged for their troops to be transformed into "Demon Army" because of betrayal by a key figure.
If he told the Princess now, to make strategic adjustments as soon as possible.
Maybe he could directly speedrun the Demon Slayer Transformation and really help Princess Taiping to take down Li Long Ji on the Ghost Festival.
But.
Here's the problem.
Why did he know such private matters about the Princess?
You know, Princess Taiping didn't even trust herself, she entrusted all of her plans to Cen Zhi.
The reason he knew was because he had the advantages of a time-traveling character with numerical plot, knowing things in advance.
Anyone who touched this reverse scale.
Anyone,
Their fate would be nothing but death.
Therefore…
The matter returned to the starting point.
He could only act according to the situation.
Even if he offended the Princess temporarily by protecting Xu Zhi Yun, he had to do it. Because, for now, the Princess has already fallen off the chessboard, from a player to a pawn.
Offending her was also a form of protection.
Also.
A truly skilled warrior leaves no trace of their exploits.
If he let the situation escalate.
And then he stood up to turn the tide, it wouldn't be the same. The merits and favorability would come pouring in!
What?
The waves are high?
The higher the waves, the more expensive the fish!
The Demon Slayer Transformation is like that.
Letting Li Long Ji enjoy a period of success is also the same.
After all, being a favorite of the Princess is just being a favorite. What he wanted to be was the… master of the Princess's residence!